Another Test, another scintillating finish. Test matches are supposed to provide greater variety and texture than the limited-over game, but recently all they have given us is a monotonous riot of thrilling dramas, a tediously predictable sequence of wildly fluctuating nail-biters. Yawn. No wonder the crowds have been so small. What Test cricket needs is more high-scoring draws.

The Hobart Test* was a historic one for New Zealand, who overcame both their Antipodean rivals and their own batting indisciplines, to record a landmark victory so exciting that even the dolphins in the Tasman sea reportedly bunked off from fish-eating duties and listened in to the radio commentary on their in-built sonar.

(A conversation between two bottlenose dolphins intercepted by an ESPN submarine and translated by Cricinfo’s in-house marine biologist proceeded as follows: “Hey, Maureen, that was worth missing out on that shoal of herring for, eh?” “Damn right, Gerald. What a game. Most of the batting was pretty rubbish, but that was sporting theatre of the highest order.” “Sure was, Maureen. I never thought I’d live to see the day that New Zealand won in Australia.” “More fool you, Gerald. This Australian batting unit has been an accident waiting to happen for ages. And an accident actually happening several times during those ages.” “Fair point, Maureen. But I thought that brilliant win in Johannesburg would have given them some good old baggy-green confidence.” “No, Gerald, it camouflaged the same old failings. As soon as the ball starts moving around, they’re in trouble.” “I’m the same with fish, Maureen. If they’re going in a straight line, no problem, snap, gulp, yum. But a bit of swing either way, I’m going hungry.” “That’s because you go at the fish too hard, Gerald. If the fish is moving, you’ve got to wait for it, try to play it late, with a soft snout. Your problem is that you’ve had too long eating fish that don’t move about, and now the sea has become more conducive to swing again, you don’t have the technique to cope with it. Or the patience. Or the discipline. Which I find both strange and disappointing in an experienced dolphin like you.” “All right, Maureen, you’ve made your point. And let’s give some credit to the fish, they were the better sea creature on the day.” “That’s true, Gerald, but you made it very easy for them. The fact is, you’re only still in this school because the young dolphins coming through aren’t up to scratch yet.” “Shut up, Maureen, shut up. I’ve still got it. I know I’ll come good some day soon. I’ll catch some mackerel or something. Honest. I’m too good not to. Look at my career record.” “Yadda yadda yadda, Gerald. Cripes, we’d better move it. That sounds like a Japanese fishing vessel. We’d better shift or we’re going to end up on the wrong side of a bit of wasabi.”)

I digress. Hobart showcased the continuing crisis in Australian batsmanship, which, if not quite as severe or globally momentous as the Eurozone crisis, has nevertheless lasted far longer than it should have done. And the baffling nature of that crisis was highlighted by the fact that the most technically sound Australian batsman in the game was playing for New Zealand. Dean Brownlie played like the seasoned international veteran that he isn’t, a man not considered good enough even for first-class cricket in Australia, who outshone the stalwarts of his former country’s Test team.

For just the second time since the 1880s, Australia’s top 7 between them returned 13 scores of under 25 in a Test match. (The previous occasion was in Karachi in 1988-89, when the fact that Pakistan selected a grand total of zero seam bowlers hinted that they were trying to catch Australia on a turning wicket.) Only David Warner’s brilliant, pigeonhole-defying century, in which a supposed limited-over biffer with minimal first-class experience batted with restraint and selectivity whilst 30-something veterans pushed at and chased the swinging ball, saved them from one of the greatest statistical ignominies in 120 years of Baggy-Green batsmanship.

In Cape Town, just a month ago, the Australian top 7 had posted 12 scores of less than 25 – it was only the fourth time that had happened since the First World War.

Most concerningly for Australia, the experienced players have led the way, unable to find a way to halt the collapses, repeating the same hard-handed errors. In the two recent two-Test mini-series, Clarke has scored a dazzling century in each, one of which was an early candidate for innings of the decade, but has also been out for 22 or fewer in his other five innings. Hussey passed 20 just once in seven innings, and Ponting, whose long-term struggles are statistically irrefutable, only twice. Haddin made important half-centuries in Johannesburg and Brisbane, but has not scored more than 35 in his other 12 innings this year. Watson, after hitting 16 fifty-plus scores in his first 18 Tests as an opener up to the end of 2010, has added just one more half-century in six Tests in 2011.

For many years, Australian youngsters early in their careers would watch and learn from their seniors. It appears they are still doing so. Hughes has reached 40 in two innings out of 15; Khawaja has batted for at least 45 minutes in all but one of his 11 Test innings since making his debut in the Sydney Test in January, but he has passed 40 only once.

The year 2010 was bad for Australian batting, culminating in their Boxing Day Ashes debacle, a performance so inept that the ghost of Bill Ponsford reportedly chained himself to the railings outside the MCG in protest, waving a placard reading: “Knuckle down, for heaven’s sake.”

The year 2011 has been even worse. In eight Tests, Australia’s top 7 batsmen have collectively averaged 33.5, their lowest since 1988, a year in which the Australians were more than a little inconvenienced by having to face Ambrose, Marshall, Walsh and Patterson in three Tests out of eight.

Only the first Test against India offers the hope of redemption for a year in which 60% of the Australian top 7’s innings have ended with a slow trudge back to the pavilion, head bowed, baggy green that little bit baggier, after being out for less than 25. That is the highest failure rate by the Australian top 7 in any year since 1984. That was also a year in which they were more than a little inconvenienced, this time by having to face Marshall, Garner and Holding in consecutive five-Test series, a task which, for a batting line-up, must have been as appealing as being a human guinea pig in an experiment to calculate the effect on the digestive system of being repeatedly smashed in the stomach with a baseball bat.

*1330GMT, December 16: Corrected to change the scorecard link which was previously directing to the Brisbane Test

Andy Zaltzman is a stand-up comedian, a regular on the BBC Radio 4, and a writer

Australia need to start worrying seriously.....I imagine this must have been the gist of the senators' orations as Hannibal powered his way through Italy....on elephants no less! Or if u prefer a more contemporary example, hapless Pakistan after the breakout of the match fixing scandel or even India in 1978 as their famed spin quartet was carted round the Karachi stadium by the young Imran Khan....who incidentally is causing a few sleepness nights in the corridors of power in Islamabad these days.
Seriously though....Steyn is great & all power to Philander (what a name) & to NZ but anything under 3 figures twice in a season almost brings test status into play here. If this was Bangladesh (getting banged up by the new & improved (read boring and professional) Pakistanis these days) we would be wagging our fingers and bemoaning their test status....but since the team in question was billed the greatest of all only a couple of years ago, we can only marvel at the speed of their decline.

eagerBrad
on December 20, 2011, 8:31 GMT

Awesome Andy! Ever considered commentary?

DJ
on December 20, 2011, 8:21 GMT

I would like to see Andy writing the next book of HHGTTG (7th book in the trilogy of 7). Especially after reading the Dolphin commentry and the obvious references to Lords and Cricket in HHGTTG. Awesome stuff.....

Navin Adhikari
on December 19, 2011, 15:23 GMT

If I will ever read an article as good as this, I will tell my wife.

nt
on December 19, 2011, 14:44 GMT

your articles are just like cricket.
Brilliant but not interesting

eagerBrad
on December 19, 2011, 9:04 GMT

Hahahaha, Indian Ocean dolphins surely :D

Kumar S
on December 16, 2011, 21:18 GMT

You are to page 2 what bradman is to test cricket, what viv richards is to ODIs and what tendulkar is to international cricket!!! Yeah, completely out of it!!

Rajiv Purohit
on December 16, 2011, 20:29 GMT

Like with all your earlier articles, I have been left craving for more of these gems... awesome Andy !!! Take a bow !!!

hasan
on December 16, 2011, 17:14 GMT

Boring.......................trying 2 hard to be funny! Didnt get enuff attention for yr lack of hair.

Raks
on December 16, 2011, 15:15 GMT

Please please pretty Please Andy. Replace Arun Lal and L Shiva in the Commentory team(wherever whenever they commentate) ASAP. Can not bear to listen to them.

Taimur Khan
on December 20, 2011, 12:44 GMT

Australia need to start worrying seriously.....I imagine this must have been the gist of the senators' orations as Hannibal powered his way through Italy....on elephants no less! Or if u prefer a more contemporary example, hapless Pakistan after the breakout of the match fixing scandel or even India in 1978 as their famed spin quartet was carted round the Karachi stadium by the young Imran Khan....who incidentally is causing a few sleepness nights in the corridors of power in Islamabad these days.
Seriously though....Steyn is great & all power to Philander (what a name) & to NZ but anything under 3 figures twice in a season almost brings test status into play here. If this was Bangladesh (getting banged up by the new & improved (read boring and professional) Pakistanis these days) we would be wagging our fingers and bemoaning their test status....but since the team in question was billed the greatest of all only a couple of years ago, we can only marvel at the speed of their decline.

eagerBrad
on December 20, 2011, 8:31 GMT

Awesome Andy! Ever considered commentary?

DJ
on December 20, 2011, 8:21 GMT

I would like to see Andy writing the next book of HHGTTG (7th book in the trilogy of 7). Especially after reading the Dolphin commentry and the obvious references to Lords and Cricket in HHGTTG. Awesome stuff.....

Navin Adhikari
on December 19, 2011, 15:23 GMT

If I will ever read an article as good as this, I will tell my wife.

nt
on December 19, 2011, 14:44 GMT

your articles are just like cricket.
Brilliant but not interesting

eagerBrad
on December 19, 2011, 9:04 GMT

Hahahaha, Indian Ocean dolphins surely :D

Kumar S
on December 16, 2011, 21:18 GMT

You are to page 2 what bradman is to test cricket, what viv richards is to ODIs and what tendulkar is to international cricket!!! Yeah, completely out of it!!

Rajiv Purohit
on December 16, 2011, 20:29 GMT

Like with all your earlier articles, I have been left craving for more of these gems... awesome Andy !!! Take a bow !!!

hasan
on December 16, 2011, 17:14 GMT

Boring.......................trying 2 hard to be funny! Didnt get enuff attention for yr lack of hair.

Raks
on December 16, 2011, 15:15 GMT

Please please pretty Please Andy. Replace Arun Lal and L Shiva in the Commentory team(wherever whenever they commentate) ASAP. Can not bear to listen to them.

hitman007
on December 16, 2011, 13:59 GMT

Ahhhhh, Andy, I rate your 'Dolphin podcast' along with Vincent Vaga/Jules Winnfield chatting about television pilots, sensuality and European food.
And I rate that stuff pretty high.

Lord Emsworth
on December 16, 2011, 13:32 GMT

A fishy story...Could well be 'doggy'. World cricket like the world economy has gone topsy turvy. India lost like dogs in England, England lost like dogs in India, Sri Lanka gone to the dogs, Aussies going to the dogs, NZ becoming top dogs, WI infighting top dog Gayle, Paks in and out of the doghouse.Proteas puppies at home. Only 'dependable' Bangladesh remains as predictable as ever.....

Rohan Bhalerao
on December 16, 2011, 13:29 GMT

I repeat what one of my fellow readers and fans have written about Andy..
AndyZaltz.., you are to page 2 what Bradman is to test cricket, what Viv Richards is to ODIs and what Tendulkar is to international cricket!!!

Arnold D'Souza
on December 16, 2011, 13:18 GMT

LOL Andy! Brillo as usual. Just a small comment from my side: The hyperlink on "Hobart Test" points to the Brisbane Test. You might want to correct that. Or was it intended as some deep joke that I didn't get? With you I never know!

Subhasish
on December 16, 2011, 12:46 GMT

You sure know how to rub it in! But, I am hopeful, that all the Australians will recover their run scoring form against their winter visitors!!

Ankur
on December 16, 2011, 12:27 GMT

I have no words to describe your writing talents.You are "ANDY THE GREAT".

Ram
on December 16, 2011, 11:34 GMT

Good one!! the dolphin conversation was just too good...Have you written any books Mr. Andy Zaltzman?? If yes, Would love to read them..

James b. Waqar 0
on December 16, 2011, 10:11 GMT

Thanks Andy, absolutely hilarious!
Can we please have you commentating on Sky Sports instead of some of the dull former England cricketers?

Arvind
on December 16, 2011, 9:04 GMT

The stuff about the dolphins is some of the most brilliant writing i've seen in some time

Rahul
on December 16, 2011, 8:57 GMT

Amazing article. And once again highlighting the facts which Aussie selectors must look at. They need to focus on the 2013 Ashes and 2015 world cup, and for this they need to look at a young lineup to mature in this time, to face a strong england team, and then play a world cup at home. The old farts are not performing and they should be ditched now than later

Raks
on December 16, 2011, 8:51 GMT

"For many years, Australian youngsters early in their careers would watch and learn from their seniors. It appears they are still doing so." - Priceless Andy. Please increase the frequency of ur articles.

Riverlime
on December 16, 2011, 7:20 GMT

"..more than a little inconvenienced.." That's a catchphrase, if ever I heard one. You are definitely my favourite Omega-monikered columnist!!

nil
on December 16, 2011, 7:08 GMT

AndyZaltz.., you are to page 2 what bradman is to test cricket, what viv richards is to ODIs and what tendulkar is to international cricket!!!

SaduSak
on December 16, 2011, 6:42 GMT

Next time, I hope to read Dolphins in Indian Ocean boasting about big 'Blue' whales success....

No featured comments at the moment.

SaduSak
on December 16, 2011, 6:42 GMT

Next time, I hope to read Dolphins in Indian Ocean boasting about big 'Blue' whales success....

nil
on December 16, 2011, 7:08 GMT

AndyZaltz.., you are to page 2 what bradman is to test cricket, what viv richards is to ODIs and what tendulkar is to international cricket!!!

Riverlime
on December 16, 2011, 7:20 GMT

"..more than a little inconvenienced.." That's a catchphrase, if ever I heard one. You are definitely my favourite Omega-monikered columnist!!

Raks
on December 16, 2011, 8:51 GMT

"For many years, Australian youngsters early in their careers would watch and learn from their seniors. It appears they are still doing so." - Priceless Andy. Please increase the frequency of ur articles.

Rahul
on December 16, 2011, 8:57 GMT

Amazing article. And once again highlighting the facts which Aussie selectors must look at. They need to focus on the 2013 Ashes and 2015 world cup, and for this they need to look at a young lineup to mature in this time, to face a strong england team, and then play a world cup at home. The old farts are not performing and they should be ditched now than later

Arvind
on December 16, 2011, 9:04 GMT

The stuff about the dolphins is some of the most brilliant writing i've seen in some time

James b. Waqar 0
on December 16, 2011, 10:11 GMT

Thanks Andy, absolutely hilarious!
Can we please have you commentating on Sky Sports instead of some of the dull former England cricketers?

Ram
on December 16, 2011, 11:34 GMT

Good one!! the dolphin conversation was just too good...Have you written any books Mr. Andy Zaltzman?? If yes, Would love to read them..

Ankur
on December 16, 2011, 12:27 GMT

I have no words to describe your writing talents.You are "ANDY THE GREAT".

Subhasish
on December 16, 2011, 12:46 GMT

You sure know how to rub it in! But, I am hopeful, that all the Australians will recover their run scoring form against their winter visitors!!